


Wanna See Your Animal Side

by zahnie



Category: Leverage, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, Canon-Typical Violence, Car Accidents, Crossover, Hypnotism, Kidnapping, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2018-12-06 05:55:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11594316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zahnie/pseuds/zahnie
Summary: The Leverage pack is hired to find some missing kids in Beacon Hills.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Aka The What the Fuck Is Wrong With This Town Job
> 
> Teen Wolf canon followed up to and including episode 3.01 'Tattoo' (the first episode I ever saw ever, incidentally) and then diverging. Leverage canon adapted for werewolves. 
> 
> This is my first time writing Teen Wolf fic and it is intimidating af.
> 
> I wasn't sure if this should have a tag for 'graphic descriptions of violence' because Teen Wolf is fairly violent in canon so please let me know if you think I should add that tag.
> 
> My eternal gratitude to Adelaide for their endless encouragement and patience! I hope the result is worth all the waiting <3 Also, thank you to Laura for letting me ramble on (and on!) about this fic while it was in progress, even though she has only seen one (1) episode of Teen Wolf ever.
> 
> Shout-out to Amelior8or, who convinced me to watch not only Teen Wolf but also Leverage, a kindness that I will hold in my heart always.
> 
> Title is from ['Death Valley' by Fall Out Boy.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqSoHWqWBN0)

Eliot throws himself out the nightmare so hard that he's halfway across the hotel room when he opens his eyes. He crouches, trying to breathe.

“Eliot?”

It's Parker. He can see her, sitting up in the bed. Her voice is shaky. Oh God, did he do something in his sleep? His claws are out but they're clean.

Parker wipes her face. Eliot can smell salt water. Tears and sweat. No blood. He manages a full breath.

Hardison makes a strangled whimpering noise. Eliot rushes over his side of the bed, ready to fight off whatever it is.

Parker leans over Hardison from the other side. “He's dreaming,” she says.

Hardison makes another noise that pulls at Eliot's heart. He kneels down beside the bed. “Hardison,” he says, touching his arm. “Wake up.”

“Alec,” Parker says, urgently, smelling like fear.

Hardison's claws come out. One of them grazes Eliot's arm.

The cut heals almost as fast as it opened but the scent of Eliot's blood has woken Hardison. He's staring at his claws in horror. “Oh no, no, _no_ ,” he whispers. His eyes meet Eliot's, frantic.

“I'm okay,” Eliot says, as calmly as he can. He's _never_ seen Hardison's claws come out involuntarily.

Parker's eyes glow red for a moment and then she shakes her head. “Did we all just have nightmares?” she asks.

Hardison rolls onto his back so Parker is laying across his chest instead of on his shoulder. “You too? And Eliot?”

Parker nods and Hardison rubs her back, his claws retracted out of sight now. He tentatively extends his other hand to Eliot, who takes it at once and kisses Hardison's knuckles.

“What... what was yours about?” Hardison asks.

Eliot shudders, remembering. The dream is still too vivid. The feel of his claws as they slid through Parker's skin, as they made wounds too deep to heal in time. The sound of Nate's neck snapping, of Sophie's last gurgling breath. The look of betrayal and hatred on Hardison's face as he died.

Parker says, “There was this Alpha telling me to join his pack. I killed—” She stops.

Hardison and Eliot both freeze in surprise. “Old white guy?” Hardison asks.

“Blind? With a cane?” Eliot asks.

Parker nods, her eyes wide.

Eliot sighs heavily as the clues slot into place. “Goddamn mystical hotspot town,” he growls.

Hardison laughs shakily. “Too bad you can't punch it in the face.”

Parker props herself up with one hand and brushes Eliot's mouth with her fingertips. “Come back to bed?”

“I'm too awake,” Eliot says. He never can go back to sleep after nightmares.

“Please?” Parker asks. She and Hardison shift over so Eliot doesn't have to go around the bed.

He climbs in. Hardison's warm arm pulls him close.

Parker kisses Eliot desperately, like it's been months instead of hours since the last time. Then she kisses Hardison the same way. “Never,” she whispers. “Not for anything.”

Hardison kisses Eliot and then Parker. “Not for the whole world.”

Eliot kisses both of them in turn and whispers, “I love you, I love you,” so quietly that only werewolves could have heard him.

~~

_54 hours earlier_

“This is not like any other job,” Hardison says.

Parker sneaks a glance at Eliot. He already has his arms crossed. And is scowling. Hardison wouldn't tell either of them anything about the job he's about to present.

She pokes Eliot, which gets the scowl pointed at her briefly instead of at Hardison.

Hardison ignores them. He directs his next words to Nate and Sophie. “Have you heard of the Alpha pack?”

Sophie frowns cutely. She's been trying to teach Parker that frown for _months_. Parker's face just doesn't move like Sophie's does. “A pack of Alphas? Isn't the point of a pack that there is only one Alpha?”

Nate clears his throat significantly.

“One _werewolf_ Alpha, of course,” Sophie says, rolling her eyes. Nate gets touchy sometimes about the word 'Alpha'. It's a silly thing to get upset about, because Parker is an Alpha but she follows Nate's leadership. Werewolf packs don't normally have human leaders. Parker has never been big on normal.

“A very good point,” says Hardison. “However, these Alphas have decided to join up together, because they all have something in common.” He raises his eyebrows at them.

Eliot says, “They each killed their packs. Hardison, this had better be some kind of unrelated background info because we are _not—_ ”

Hardison talks right over him, “We're going to take down the Alpha pack!”

“Dammit Hardison,” Eliot growls.

Nate is shaking his head. “Human scumbags only. We've talked about this.”

Hardison holds up his hands for quiet. “Just hear me out.” He turns back to his presentation screen. “These Alphas have been murdering humans and werewolves for a while now. They're too powerful for Hunters to deal with, too slippery for regular law enforcement to catch. However, _we_ have an advantage.” He click to the next picture, a sign that says 'Welcome to Beacon Hills'. “We know their next target.”

“Why are they going there?” Parker asks. Eliot glares at her for helping.

“Recruitment,” Hardison says. “And probably territory too,” he adds, offhandedly.

Sophie looks bored. She doesn't smell bored but Parker is used to Sophie's face and emotion-scents not matching. Not that Parker is very good at interpreting faces but Hardison and Eliot have talked about the mismatching too. It's from Sophie being a professional grifter, that she does it even with pack.

Nate leans forward. “Who has the territory right now?”

Hardison grins. Eliot groans and puts his head in his hands. Parker leans forward too. She's the furthest away from Nate but she's getting a whiff of something... excitement? It's a good emotion anyway.

“Traditionally, the Hale pack had Beacon Hills and the surrounding area,” Hardison says.

Parker's lip pulls back into a half-snarl. She doesn't like the Hale pack story.

“After the fire, Laura, Derek, and Peter Hale were the only survivors,” Hardison continues. Three sketches appear beside him, two kids in their teens and a man in his mid-thirties. They look like they belong together. The Hale pack was all family-by-blood and most of them were born-wolves, like Hardison is.

“Peter was in long-term care, due to his injuries. Laura died last Halloween. Derek came back into the area after Laura died.” Hardison pauses. “The official reports get a bit strange after that. Apparently, Beacon Hills is a 'mystical hotspot'.” He uses his fingers to make quotes in the air.

Sophie asks, “Does it attract non-humans or does it produce mystical phenomena?”

“Both,” Nate and Hardison answer at the same time.

“It's an interesting place, for sure,” Nate continues. “But I'm still not convinced we should take the job.”

“We shouldn't,” Eliot says, flatly. “Not with Argents in Beacon Hills too.” Everybody looks at him. He sighs. “I keep track, okay? We need to stay away from Hunters who have a history of...” He trails off.

“Exactly,” Nate says. He turns back to Hardison. “So? Why should we do this?”

Hardison takes a deep breath. “Because there are some kids in trouble and we're the only ones who can help them.”

Two posters pop up on the screen, 'MISSING' across the top of both. One is of a white girl with dirty blonde hair and gray circles under her eyes. The other one is of a black boy with a shaved head and a round face.

Sophie says, “They aren't wolves.” She points at the screen. “Photos, not sketches.”

“Those might be old,” Parker says. “Or edited photos, like we have for IDs.”

“They're barely 16,” Eliot says.

Parker shrugs. She was turned a lot younger than that.

“They've been missing for a few months,” says Hardison. “They disappeared soon after the Alpha pack left their mark in the area.” He pulls up a picture of a tree with a symbol like a spiral with jagged legs clawed into it. “I found this on Instagram and traced the IP back to Beacon Hills.”

Nate asks, “How do you know those kids didn't just run away? And that this isn't a hoax?”

Hardison says, “I don't know for sure that they're connected but the circumstances are pretty suspicious. As for it being a hoax...” A photo of a burned-out shell of a house appears beside him. The Alpha pack symbol is clearly visible on the front door. “ _That_ looks more like a challenge to me.”

Nate nods.

Parker feels her eyes glow red for a moment. If anybody challenged her like that, she'd want to rip them apart.

“So, who is the client, exactly?” Eliot asks, grumpily.

Hardison smiles at him. “There was a kid online, asking for help against the Alpha pack. He's in Beacon Hills too. I looked at his past searches.” A long list of Google searches scrolls onto the presentation screen. “There is some weird stuff on there, and I don't just mean 'teenage boy' weird. Lots of _very_ specific queries about werewolves, and then a bunch of stuff on obscure myths. He's definitely been involved in a few incidents too, from the reports.”

“What's his name?” Nate asks.

~~

_5 hours after nightmares_

Stiles turns off his jeep and looks at Scott. “Don't forget about the party tonight,” he says.

Scott looks at him blankly. “What party?”

Stiles can't remember if he told Scott about the party already or if he was remembering reminding _himself_ to tell Scott about the party. He rolls his eyes anyway. “Heather's party. Tonight. It's going to be awesome.”

“Oh, right, that party,” Scott says, smiling unconvincingly. “Can't wait.” Scott is a terrible liar.

“Suuure,” Stiles drawls. He sighs. “I promise it'll be fun. Remember fun?”

“Yeah,” Scott says, “I'll go. I said I would.”

Stiles nods. “Okay then. Great. Super.”

He's about to add more adjectives when Scott says, “Stiles.” When he says Stiles' name like that, it means, 'Stop worrying about it.' It's sweet that Scott thinks Stiles can actually do that.

Stiles nods again. “Okay,” he says, and they both get out of the jeep.

Scott stops to stare at the very cool motorbikes, like he has been doing every morning since school started. Stiles is bored of them now so he's on self-appointed Allison-and-Lydia watch.

He doesn't see them but he definitely sees an exhausted-looking Isaac coming across the student parking lot. Isaac hasn't even been to school yet this year. He looks like he should still be in the hospital.

Stiles waves in a perfectly friendly way.

Usually, Isaac ignores Stiles and goes straight to Scott with the dire news or whatever. Isaac has a very werewolves-only attitude that Stiles does not appreciate. He's been dealing with this ever-present supernatural freakshow for longer than Isaac has even known that werewolves are a thing.

Isaac looks nervously at Scott, who is still absorbed with the bikes, and asks Stiles, “Can I talk to you?”

“Why?” Stiles asks, suspiciously.

Isaac huffs, which makes him sound like Derek. Do Betas catch stuff like that from their Alphas? Reason number 100 not to become a werewolf.

Scott comes over. “Hey, Isaac, are you okay?” he asks, genuinely concerned because he is Scott McCall, with a heart as big as the whole outdoors.

Isaac shrugs and then winces. “I'm fine,” he says. “I'm not staying. I need to talk to Stiles for a minute.”

Scott looks as confused as Stiles is. “Uh... I'll just go then?” he asks, after an awkward pause.

After he leaves, Stiles raises his eyebrows at Isaac. “What can I do for you?”

“I need a favour,” Isaac says. “Don't tell Derek.”

“Because he and I talk _so_ much,” Stiles says, sarcastically.

Isaac shakes his head. “It's about the—it's about what you and Scott found out about last night.”

The Alpha pack. Stiles tried to research it a bit after he got home but he didn't have much to go on. “Uh huh,” he says, motioning for Isaac to hurry up.

“I asked some people for help,” Isaac says. “They came into town yesterday. But I don't know if they're Hunters and I'm not strong enough right now if they are. Could you go and meet them for me?”

Stiles stares at him. “Um, Isaac, Hunters don't exactly _love_ me. Like, I don't make good first impressions on them. Historically.”

Isaac shrugs. “They probably aren't Hunters. The one I talked to says they don't usually handle the supernatural.”

“But this was over the phone or something,” Stiles guesses. “So you don't know if they're lying.”

Isaac nods. The bell rings.

Stiles sighs. “I'm not meeting anybody in the middle of the woods,” he says.

“Beacon Hills Coffee House, 4pm,” Isaac says. “Thanks.” He leaves before Stiles can tell him that he didn't say _yes_.

“Are you going on a date with Isaac Lahey?” Lydia asks, from right behind him.

Stiles turns around, flailing a bit. Moderate flailing. “Am I—am I what?” he squeaks.

She tilts her head at him. “No,” she says, consideringly, “He has better taste than that. What _are_ you doing?”

The late bell rings, making Stiles jump. “Going to class!” he says, too loud.

Lydia tosses her hair. It looks magnificent, as always. She walks away without saying anything else.

Stiles groans and follows her into the school at a respectful distance.

~~

_Beacon Hills Coffee House, 3:45pm_

“Excuse me,” a stranger says.

Allison looks up from her phone. She has to squint because the sun is behind the man in front of her. “Oh, sorry, my friend is going to sit there,” she says, pointing at the empty seat at her table. Lydia is inside the coffee house, getting Allison a thanks-for-driving-me-around-after-a-crazed-deer-ran-into-my-car latte. It could also be a stop-moping-over-your-tragic-life latte. Lattes can have multiple meanings, especially with Lydia Martin.

The man moves out of the sun but sideways, so he's still the same distance away from her. He has brown hair that almost brushes his shoulders and really blue eyes. “Are you okay?” he asks.

Allison blinks at him. “What?”

He gestures at her. She looks down. Her sleeve has bunched up and the bruise on her arm from yesterday is visible. Allison pulls the sleeve back into place. “It's nothing,” she says. She's gotten worse bruises from bowstrings. Though those tended to be closer to the inside of her elbow than to her wrist.

When Allison looks up again, the man is still standing there. He hesitates and then nods. “Sorry to bother you.”

“Wait,” Allison says. She pulls her sleeve back up. Coincidences don't happen in Beacon Hills. “Does it look like... does it remind you of anything?” The bruise doesn't look like much, just some purplish green lines on her skin. It looked so _symbolic_ next to Lydia's matching one last night.

The man's eyebrows come together. “It looks like somebody grabbed you pretty hard.”

Allison can feel her face heating up. “Somebody did. But I meant, like a symbol or something? Everything's always connected here...” She stops. Trying to explain why to a stranger is weird and probably dangerous. She sighs. She promised Dad she'd stay out of Hunter stuff. “Nevermind. I know it doesn't make sense.”

The man surprises Allison by handing her a white business card. “If you need help, call,” he says. “I'm Eliot.”

“I can take care of myself,” Allison says. She takes the card anyway.

Eliot nods.

Lydia comes out of the coffee shop behind Eliot and when Allison focuses back on him, he's already walking away.

Lydia sets the cups and a paper bag down on the table. “Who was that?”

Allison shows her the card.

“He gave you his _business card_?” Lydia asks. “You know they're ancient when. Gross.”

The card is blank except for 'Leverage Consulting' written in gold and a phone number. Allison doesn't recognize the area code. “He wasn't trying to pick me up,” she says.

Lydia makes a disbelieving noise around her cup. She waves at Allison. “Of course he was. But whatever.” She pushes the paper bag toward Allison with her fingertips. “That's for you.”

“Uh, thanks,” Allison says. She opens the bag and takes out a chocolate brownie. She breaks it in half and offers half to Lydia.

“ _All_ for you,” Lydia says, smiling. Allison can't help but smile back. Lydia is one good thing in Beacon Hills anyway.

“So, we've chosen paint. What are you thinking for curtains?”

They talk about decorating for a while. The brownie is good, though Allison feels weird eating when Lydia isn't. She appreciates what the brownie means more than what it _is_. Lydia has been working hard to try to cheer Allison up. They've been spending a lot of time together since Allison came back. She wants to cheer Lydia up too. They didn't talk much while Allison was in France. The time difference was brutal. And Allison hadn't wanted to think about Beacon Hills.

They've moved on from decorating to classes when Lydia looks over Allison's shoulder and smiles triumphantly. It's super tempting to turn around but Allison resists. She keeps talking about English class instead.

Lydia feigns deep interest in her (empty) latte cup, as Stiles Stilinski hurries past their table. He either doesn't see them or is really good at pretending. He goes into the coffee shop.

As soon as the door closes behind him, Allison breaks off in mid-sentence. “Are we here to spy on Stiles?” she asks.

Lydia doesn't look up from her cup. “We're multitasking,” she says. “It's more efficient.”

“Why are we spying on _Stiles_?”

Lydia meets Allison's eyes and raises her eyebrows as if to say _Would you rather spy on someone else?_ She has the kindness not actually say it out loud though. “He was acting suspicious this morning. That plus the weird animals thing and Isaac not coming to school means something is going on.” She smiles at Allison, all teeth. “And I'm bored.”

“Isaac isn't coming to school?” Allison asks.

“He came by this morning but never went in. That's who Stiles was being suspicious with.”

“Oh,” Allison says. She gets the connections now. It does sound like something is going on. But she still doesn't understand why Lydia wants to be involved.

“It probably has something to do with that girl yesterday,” Lydia continues, too casually. “Since she gave us the symbol-bruises.”

Allison rolls her eyes. “I know you don't think they're symbolic. You don't have to pretend.”

Lydia shrugs. “You think they are.”

Allison wants to put her head down on the table. That girl was looking for Scott. If the bruises are symbolic, they are probably connected to Scott. But instead of just _talking_ to Scott, she and Lydia are stalking Stiles. Because Lydia is shielding her from having to deal with Scott. It's embarrassing to realize that Allison likes this plan much better than Lydia's previous one of get-Allison-a-new-boyfriend-as-soon-as-possible. That plan involved parties and dates, which are things that Allison is deeply not ready for.

“So, we're just going to wait until he comes out?” Allison asks.

“We could go in,” Lydia says and it looks like she would say more, but the problem is resolved in the form of Stiles exiting the coffee shop.

Allison waves at Lydia to be quiet. Stiles has his phone out. He looks annoyed.

He isn't looking at them but it is a small patio and Allison can clearly hear everything he says.

“Isaac, you didn't tell me what they look like, how am I supposed to meet your mysterious people if I don't—” He pauses mid-sentence. “Oh. Hi, Derek. Nothing, is Isaac there? No, everything's fine!” He sounds panicked now. “No, you don't have to—”

Stiles stops talking and lowers his phone. He slowly pulls one hand down the side of his face. “Fuck,” he says, softly but with feeling.

“Tough day?” Lydia asks sweetly. She's turned her chair so she's facing Stiles.

He jumps. “Lydia!” he yelps. His eyes flick over to Allison, who gives him a not-my-idea grimace. “And Allison!” Stiles says, with false cheer. “Hi! Getting some pre-homework caffination? Awesome, me too!”

He waves his to-go cup awkwardly. It sloshes and some coffee spills on his hand. “Fuck! Fucking _ow_!” he shouts.

Allison grabs a handful of stray napkins from a nearby table and gets up to help Stiles. He already has the burned part of his hand in his mouth. “I'm fine,” he mumbles around it. She offers him the napkins anyway.

Stiles places his cup on the ground by his feet with exaggerated care. He straightens up and takes the napkins from Allison with his now-free hand. “Thanks,” he says. Allison steps back to give him some space.

Lydia has watched all of this with bright interest. “Stiles,” she prompts.

Stiles tenses. “Yes?” he asks.

“Is there something going on?” Lydia wiggles her fingers sarcastically.

“What kind of something? Lots of things going on all the time. I mean, technically. Things.” Stiles looks at them hopefully.

Allison rolls her eyes at him. “So, you mean yes.”

“Yes? No! I mean, I don't even really know—” Stiles stops himself, takes a deep breath, and goes on. “Yeah, but we'll handle it.”

“We?” Lydia asks. It's a good question. Allison used to be part of the 'we'. Sort of. Sometimes. When it got too big for everyone to hide it from her.

Stiles glances at Allison. “Don't worry about it,” he tells them. “You two don't have to get involved.”

“We might already be,” Lydia says.

~~

_Beacon Hills Coffee House, 4:10pm_

The novelty of waiting for a client in a new place has worn off. Especially waiting for a _late_ client.

She's been watching the crowds carefully but Sophie hasn't seen any werewolves today. She learned the tell-tale signs years ago and being part of a pack has only sharpened her skill. Body language is the most obvious clue, as always. One cannot rely on convenient eye-flashes or claws.

Beside her, Nate is drumming his fingers on the table. He's doing it quietly but the extra motion is still annoying.

“Hardison,” he mutters. “Progress?” The echo of hearing Nate's voice both beside Sophie and in her earbud is still a little odd, even after years.

“Still on identification of the Alpha pack, since, y'know, it's easier to look up financials if I know the names of the marks.”

“I found an abandoned bank!” Parker announces, cheerfully. Her voice buzzes a little so Sophie can tell she's now right next to Hardison in the hotel room.

“That's great, babe. Maybe we can check it out later,” Hardison says.

“It's a good hiding spot,” Parker says, patiently.

“Don't jump to conclusions, Parker,” Nate says. “Those kids are just as likely to be in the basement of a private home as anywhere.”

They're most likely dead and Nate knows it. Sophie doesn't see the point in making him admit it out loud. They can all pretend for a while longer.

Nate meets Sophie's eyes. “No sign of him, huh?” he asks.

“No,” Sophie sighs. There have been dozens of teens passing through in the half-hour she and Nate have been sitting here but none of them have been werewolves. She isn't entirely sure that all of them were _human_ but definitely no werewolves. “It's a bit rude of him, really,” she continues. “After we came all the way out here.”

Nate nods.

Eliot's voice breaks in suddenly. “Incoming. Alpha werewolf half a block south and headed your way.” He's been watching the outside of the café, alert for just this kind of danger.

Parker says, “ETA four minutes.” They don't want Eliot fighting an Alpha if it can be avoided. Alpha-inflicted wounds don't heal properly on Beta wolves.

“Wait,” Nate says, standing up. “Stay there, Parker.” He has a look that Sophie recognizes, his 'checkmate' smile.

“Nate,” Sophie says, warningly, as she stands up too. “What are you—”

He's already walking away from her towards the door. She hears his next words clearly only with her earbud's help. “Eliot, stay out of range. Radio silence, everybody.”

Sophie grabs her bag and hurries after Nate. He holds the door for her as they both exit the café.

There is a group of bickering teenagers on the patio. Well, three teens and a scruffy college-age adult. The adult is definitely a werewolf. It's obvious in everything about him. He's practically snarling at the skinny kid in front of him.

“I was just doing Isaac a favour, it was _nothing_ ,” the kid babbles.

“Don't lie to me, Stiles,” the werewolf growls.

“Excuse me,” Nate says. The kids move to let him pass but Nate stands still. “Derek Hale?” he asks, politely.

Sophie blinks. Take away ten years of grief, and yes, the adult werewolf does resemble the sketch Hardison showed them. So, the Hale pack _is_ still in Beacon Hills.

Derek glares at them.

Nate sticks out his hand. “Nathan Ford. I believe your Beta was going to meet with us today. Isaac Lahey?”

Derek sniffs loudly in their direction, frowning.

Sophie smiles internally. She and Nate have avoided prolonged proximity to Parker, Hardison, and Eliot since they arrived in Beacon Hills. They should smell like packless humans right now. It's a precaution they've never had to use before.

“My associate, Sophie Deveraux,” Nate says, gesturing to her when it's obvious that Derek is not going to shake his hand.

Sophie nods to them. The teens are all looking at each other, trying to decide what to do. Derek's glare is steady.

“Who are you working for?” he demands.

Nate smiles. “You, of course,” he says.

Sophie openly rolls her eyes. “Forgive my associate, he can be rather... anticipatory,” she says, stepping forward. Derek keeps glaring but he flinches ever so slightly. Interesting. “What he means is, Isaac hired us to come consult on a problem.” She smiles at the teens. “More of your pack?” she asks. They're too young, really, but Isaac is a teenager so anything is possible.

They all look surprised. “We aren't—” the boy starts but Derek cuts him off.

“No,” he says, flatly.

Sophie feigns some surprise of her own. “My apologies. Shall we discuss this somewhere more private then?” she asks. “Your choice of location, naturally.”

Derek glares at both of them for a moment. “This way,” he says, turning.

Nate looks disgruntled. Sophie smiles at him and steps past him to follow Derek.

She hears one of the girls ask, “Where do you think they're going?”

The other one responds, “Does it matter? Let's go home.” There is a hint of a lie in her voice.

Sophie glances back over her shoulder in time to catch the redhead tucking her hair behind her ears with an exaggerated motion. Sophie turns back, pretending not to have noticed.

~~

_11 minutes later_

The GPS trackers in their comms may be one of Alec's best additions, if he does say so himself. Not that they need them this time, since they know where Eliot was a few minutes ago. So Alec and Parker find Eliot's trail basically immediately. Then it's just a matter of following it.

“Hey,” Eliot says, not turning around, as they come up behind him. He's standing just inside a short alley. “Changing the plan?”

“The plan was to meet the client, not follow a strange wolf into...” Parker trails off as she looks at the sign on the building in front of them.

“A vet. Is this a joke?” Alec wonders out loud.

Eliot sighs. “It's not like he's going to take them home.”

Parker nods. “Especially with Isaac being injured. Hey, maybe the vet is helping him. Do most vets treat werewolves?”

That makes Eliot turn around. “What?”

Oh, right. “Isaac was checked into the hospital yesterday with stab wounds and memory loss,” Alec tells him. “I found out after Derek Hale showed up.”

“Dammit, Hardison.”

“Hey, a teenage boy was ten minutes late. Forgive me if my mind didn't immediately _jump_ to hospitalization.”

Eliot huffs. Alec nobly refrains from imitating the noise because he loves him.

Parker grabs both of them. “Do you smell that?” she asks.

Alec breathes in. Warm concrete, rotting wood, garbage, lots of urine aaaand... “Fuck,” he says.

“Mountain ash,” Eliot growls.

“Perimeter?” Parker asks.

Eliot sniffs. “Maybe. There's enough of it.”

A circle of mountain ash won't stop humans so Nate and Sophie aren't exactly trapped. But it will slow the three of them down. “Not good,” Alec says. “Is it worth breaking the silence to tell them?” It would be the work of a second for any of them to turn their transmitters back on. Nate and Sophie sound okay so far though.

“I can get through it,” Eliot says. There isn't any emotion in his voice.

“No,” Alec and Parker say at the same time.

“It isn't an emergency yet,” Parker says, her fingers digging into Alec's shoulder as she holds both of them tighter.

Eliot looks past Parker at Alec, one eyebrow up.

“It ain't like it's fun for you,” Alec says. Eliot's never told them that it hurts him to push through werewolf barriers. Eliot hardly ever _says_ when things hurt, though, so that isn't a good way to measure. Alec can't do it at all and neither can Parker. The barriers are glass walls to them but to Eliot, they're like flames. He can stand the pain long enough to push through. Alec is pretty sure the army werewolf-creation unit showed him how.

There's a scratching noise behind them. Parker lets go. Alec turns just in time to see a werewolf scramble over the top of the wall at the dead end of the alley. Alec can tell the kid is a werewolf because of the casual way he leaps down from the two-storey wall.

His claws, glowing yellow eyes, and face full of fur are also good clues.

“Are you _kidding_ me?” Alec asks no one. The full moon is tomorrow, at least twenty-four hours from rising. Who taught this kid control?

The kid startles at the sound of Alec's voice. He stares at the three of them with wide brown eyes. “Uh, hi,” he says. He looks like a regular Latino kid now.

Eliot asks, “Are you Isaac Lahey?”

The kid's eyes get even wider. “No,” he says. “Are you looking for him?”

“He's the only teenage werewolf we know in Beacon Hills,” Alec answers. “Are there a lot of you?”

The kid starts looking past them like he's going to run for it.

Parker nudges Alec. She and Eliot move sideways so they are blocking the alley's exit to the street. The kid tenses up. The smell of his fear is making Alec feel sick.

“Hey, _hey_ ,” Alec says, making a 'calm down' gesture with his hands. “We're here to help.”

The kid does not smell reassured. “You're werewolves, aren't you? Are you part of the Alpha pack?” he asks.

“What?” Eliot asks, like he can't believe his ears.

Suddenly, the noise from Nate's and Sophie's comms cuts off. Alec tries to remember the last few sentences he heard but can't. He turns his transmitter on and asks, “Nate? Sophie?” Nothing. Alec shakes his head at Eliot and Parker. Either the comms have been destroyed or there's something blocking the signal.

“How many packs are there in Beacon Hills?” Parker asks the kid.

“Uh, one? Usually. But Derek said there's an Alpha pack here too, right now.”

“So Derek is your Alpha,” Parker says.

The kid looks uncomfortable and pauses before he answers. “Yeah.”

Parker nods. “He's in the vet clinic with the rest of _my_ pack.” Her eyes flare red. “Can you tell him we want to come in?”

The kid stares at her. Parker stares back.

“We'd knock,” Alec says, trying to lighten the mood. “But we weren't really invited to the meeting.”

“Hey, Scott,” calls a voice from the street behind them. “You need a hand, buddy?”

Eliot and Alec turn to face the newcomers. They angle themselves so no one has their back exposed, forming a triangle.

Three more teens are in front of them, two girls and a boy, all white. They are carrying assorted weapons.

The girl with the crossbow says, “Call you if I need help, huh?”

Alec doesn't know what she's talking about. He glances at Eliot, who smells like he might.

“Allison?” asks Scott.

Eliot breathes out slowly. It's not a relaxing sound. “Allison Argent?” he asks.

Allison lifts her crossbow a little higher, ready to shoot. Alec is not going to bet any money that she doesn't know how to use it.

“Do you _know_ them, Allison?” the boy holding the baseball bat asks.

“That one,” she says, jerking her chin at Eliot, “gave me his business card like 45 minutes ago.”

“Oh, so you're the creep who was hitting on her,” the other girl says.

Alec squeaks. “What the fuck,” he whispers.

“I was _not_ hitting on her! She's a _child_!” Eliot shouts.

“Don't insult people who can shoot you,” Allison says.

The boy with the baseball bat grins. “She will totally shoot you,” he says. “I've seen her do it.”

“I remember,” a new voice says.

“Isaac?” Scott asks.

“Finally,” Alec says. “That was getting ridiculous. Isaac, can you please tell your nice pack that _you_ asked _us_ to come here and help out?” Allison is still pointing her crossbow at Eliot and Alec doesn't like this at all.

“They're not my pack,” Isaac says.

“Hey!”

“Sorry, Scott, didn't see you there,” Isaac says, with a hint of amusement. “Is Derek around?”

“He's in the vet clinic,” Parker says.

“Oh shit, I am _so_ late for work now,” Scott says.

“You work at an animal clinic?” Eliot asks without taking his eyes off Allison's crossbow.

“Yeah.”

“But you're a werewolf.”

“And?”

“Isaac, are these the people I was supposed to meet for you? Or is it just a weird coincidence?” the boy with the baseball bat asks.

“Leverage Consulting,” Alec says quickly. Better to just lay that out now.

Isaac nods. “That's the right name. But I didn't know they're a pack.”

“We don't advertise that part,” Alec says.

Allison shifts her crossbow to point it at Alec. It looks like it would hurt like hell, even if it isn't silver, which it almost certainly is because silver's right there in her _name_. “Any other stuff you don't 'advertise' that we should know about?” she asks.

“How about you put that crossbow down and we'll talk,” Eliot growls. Alec can hear his heart rate increasing.

From behind him, Alec hears a snarl from Scott. Parker snarls back.

“Yeah, it would be really, really great if we all just take deep breaths and give each other some space, okay?” Alec says, tearing his eyes away from the crossbow with difficulty. He notices for the first time that the redhead beside Allison has powdered wolfsbane in her clenched fist, ready to throw. “Hey, that's dangerous for humans too, don't just hold it like that!” he calls.

“She isn't human,” Isaac says.

“Whatever,” Alec says. “You should still be wearing gloves,” he says to the girl.

She looks unimpressed. She also smells pretty human so maybe Isaac was lying. Or maybe Alec's just smelling the two humans near her. “I'm fine,” she says.

The boy with the baseball bat says, “If you're really here to help, let Scott walk over to us.”

Eliot keeps glaring at Allison as he asks, “Sound good, Parker?”

Parker says, “Okay, go,” to Scott. He jogs cautiously past Alec and joins the other teenagers. Allison lowers her crossbow.

Parker comes around to stand next to Alec. “Well?” she asks.

The kids look at each other but before they can answer, the door to the vet clinic opens. A black man looks out. He takes the eight of them in stride, almost as if he expected them to be there. Alec suspects hidden exterior cameras. “I'll lift the barrier, if you want to come inside,” he says. “Though I don't know if there will be room for _everyone_.”

~~

_13 minutes later_

This is not how Lydia thought her afternoon would turn out. Following Stiles should have resulted in crashing an awkward pack meeting, at maximum. Not a stand-off with three unknown werewolves, with herself armed only with a packet of dried herbs. Lydia wants to help Allison but she knows her limits.

Now that the stand-off is over, the situation is shaping up more like the pack meeting she anticipated, with the notable addition of Isaac's consultants. The examining room where they all are is crowded, so much so that Lydia is shoulder-to-shoulder with Allison and Stiles. Isaac's consultants are all clumped together on the other side of the room. After the introductions, only Nate has spoken, asking if Isaac will tell them what happened to him.

Lydia is listening carefully to Isaac's awkward explanation, on general principles, even though it's pretty obvious that she should just go home now.

“After I got your email back that you were coming, I guess I went out looking for Erica and Boyd again. The next thing I remember, it's night time and I'm running away from the Alpha pack and there's a girl with a motorbike? I think she drove through a wall. And then I was at the hospital.”

“Is 'Alpha pack' what it sounds like it is?” Allison asks.

Derek is scowling like he always does. “Yes.”

Lydia is fairly confident that everyone in the room knows all about Alpha packs, except for her and Allison. Scott and Stiles are so close that Stiles might as well be a werewolf, plus he researches everything.

“So, do you think your memory loss is due to tampering by the Alpha pack?” Nate asks Isaac.

Lydia feels a rush of cold in her stomach.

Isaac looks at Derek, then nods. “Maybe.”

“We were going to investigate it ourselves. It's pack business,” Derek says.

Nate smiles. “I'm sure it is.”

Isaac looks like he wants to protest but doesn't say anything.

Nate continues, “When you think about it, almost everything involving werewolves is pack business. I am offering assistance, however, from one pack leader to another.”

“But you're human,” Scott blurts.

A new voice joins the conversation. “Leadership is not dependent on the bite, whatever some people may think.”

Lydia freezes.

Peter Hale strides into the room. He smirks at everyone, and though he doesn't look at her when he speaks next, Lydia knows his words are for her. “Thirteen people in the same room: the first one to leave is the next to die. I wonder who it will be.”

Something brushes Lydia's hand and she flinches. But it's Allison, reaching out. Lydia grabs her hand. Allison interlaces her fingers with Lydia's and Lydia has to hold back entirely inappropriate tears. Allison is real. Lydia can trust her.

Peter extends his hand to Nate. “Forgive my lateness. Peter Hale.”

Isaac's consultants look surprised. Nate shakes Peter's hand. “Nate Ford,” he says. He doesn't introduce the others.

Peter steps back and snaps his claws out. Everyone in the room tenses. Peter pretends not to notice, but Lydia sees the way his smirk grows. “I was going to try my hand at restoring Isaac's memories.”

Lydia can't suppress a shudder at that and Allison squeezes her hand reassuringly. Stiles glances over at her, but she doesn't acknowledge him.

“Less invasive hypnotism techniques have a higher rate of success with this type of memory loss,” Deaton says, sounding like he doesn't care one way or another.

Peter shrugs. “Ice baths and herbs, claws and blood. I'm sure _Derek_ will make the right decision.”

Derek glares at him.

“I have had some success with hypnotizing people myself,” Nate says. He turns to Sophie, eyebrows up.

She looks at Isaac and says, “Yes, he could be a candidate.”

“Will your method work on a werewolf?” Deaton asks.

Hardison crosses his arms. “Oh yeah, it'll work great,” he says flatly.

Nate looks at everyone. “The fewer people in the room, the better.”

“I'm staying,” Derek almost growls. Lydia sees Isaac relax a little.

Nate nods.

“I'll go first then, shall I?” Peter says. “After all, if the stories are true...” He leaves the room without finishing his sentence.

It's like catching the bouquet at a wedding: a superstition, not a guarantee. But Lydia wants it to be true. Peter should die and stay dead. Then, maybe everybody could forget what he did to Lydia, including her.

As the rest of them are filing out, Lydia hears Parker ask someone, “Did he mean he's a zombie-wolf?”

“Are you okay?” Allison whispers. They're still holding hands.

Lydia says, “I'm fine,” but it comes out shakier than she intended. She swallows hard. Tears are coming up again. It's all so stupid and _weak_. She should be able to control herself better than this.

Allison pulls her over to some chairs in the clinic waiting room and sits down. Lydia sits beside her. Peter is nowhere in sight.

“We can leave in a few minutes,” Allison says quietly. “I don't think anybody needs us to stay now.”

Lydia nods and focuses on breathing evenly. If she can't feel calm, then she can at least try to look like she isn't falling apart.

Scott sort of hovers in the doorway for a minute, but then Deaton tells him to go clean the cat cages. Stiles must have gone home because he isn't anywhere around.

“I'll protect you,” Allison says. “He won't get to you again.”

“You can't protect everyone all the time.” Lydia immediately regrets saying anything, although, of course, it's true.

“I know,” Allison says, her eyes sliding away from Lydia's.

“I meant, we were attacked by crows in English class yesterday,” Lydia says.

Allison looks at her. Lydia can see the grief, naked and terrible, on her face. She goes on, “Bad things happen and they aren't your fault. Don't accept guilt you didn't earn. Nobody likes a martyr.”

Allison half-laughs. “I think you're feeling better now.”

She's right. Lydia smiles and squeezes Allison's hand. Allison smiles back.

Isaac's consultants, minus Nate, all come into the waiting room then and sit down. Eliot sits a chair away from Allison. “Sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to sound like I was hitting on you,” he says.

“ _I_ didn't think you were,” Allison says. She gestures with the hand Lydia is still holding. Lydia lets go quickly.

“Okay,” Eliot says. He smiles at Lydia. “Don't let go on my account. Small towns, huh? Been there myself.”

Allison looks confused. But Lydia's heart is beating so hard that she can feel her pulse in her fingertips. How did he know? If Lydia's feelings for Allison are obvious to every werewolf, _someone_ would have said _something_ by now.

Fortunately, before Allison can ask or Lydia's face gives it all away, Parker is kneeling in front of them.

“Let me see,” she commands.

“What?” Allison asks.

“Your arms. Your bruises,” Parker says.

Allison's eyes light up. They extend their arms side by side for inspection. Lydia doesn't think the 'symbol' looks like much of anything but Parker grins.

“I've seen this before,” she says.

Hardison comes over to look. “What is it?” he asks. “I can Google the thing, now that Deaton's turned off the Faraday cage.”

Parker's grin widens. “The logo for that abandoned bank I found,” she says.

~~

_4 hours later_

Scott is on his way to help rescue Erica and Boyd. This is way better than going to some stranger's party. Parties without Allison suck anyway.

He was working while everybody else figured out the plan but it seems pretty simple. Derek and Isaac are going to be distracting in the woods, with Eliot watching their backs, while Scott and Parker break into the old bank.

Scott is driving the two of them to the bank because it's his mom's car and she'd be mad if he let anybody else drive it. Scott is glad she's on the night shift tonight because if the rescue runs long, she won't know how late he'll get home. His mom would understand about it but she'd make the worried face.

It isn't a long drive and Scott wants to talk to Parker while they're alone. He clears his throat. “Can I ask you something?” he asks, glancing at her.

Parker doesn't look up from the blueprints she's reading. “Go ahead,” she says.

“How did you decide Nate and Sophie were part of your pack? I didn't even know humans could be in werewolf packs.” He feels dumb, asking someone who is really almost a stranger. This seems like something Derek should have told him.

“We were a team first,” Parker says. “Supposed to be one-night only. But we kept going because it was fun. We were all on our own before.”

“You were Omegas?” Scott tries to sound like this isn't a big deal but it so is.

“No. I was an Alpha.”

Scott glances at Parker again but she's staring out the front window. “But if you didn't have a pack...”

“Look, I wasn't an Omega. I never was.”

Parker sounds really sure about that. Scott thinks better of arguing with her. There's a lot of things he doesn't know about being a werewolf. Maybe this is another one.

He parks a few blocks from the abandoned bank. Parker offers him something small. “Here,” she says.

Scott takes the thing. It looks kind of like the inside of the headphones he and Stiles took apart one day when they were ten and convinced they were destined to become famous inventors. They hadn't been able to reassemble the headphones or the toaster or the remote control and Scott's mom made him buy replacements.

“Put it in,” Parker says, pointing to her ear. “That's one of my spares so it should be okay for you. Hardison can fix the volume remotely if it's weird.”

Scott cautiously puts the tiny earpiece in his right ear. He's seen the bigger ones, like the kind his dad uses, but those have wires.

“Shouldn't be any guards in your way, darlin', I've got eyes on the whole pack,” Eliot says through the earpiece. Scott stares at Parker. Darlin'?

“Good,” Parker says, folding the blueprints up into an impossibly small square. Her voice beside him is much quieter than her voice in the earpiece. “Scott and I are at the front entrance.”

“Go ahead,” says somebody else, probably Nate. Too late, Scott wonders if Parker's pack heard his questions.

Parker meets Scott's eyes and grins. “Let's go steal some teenage werewolves,” she says.

It sounds like a reference to something but Scott doesn't get it. Parker doesn't wait for a response, just gets out of the car and starts sneaking toward the bank. Scott follows her.

The bank is creepy inside, all echoey marble and shadows. Parker stays close to the walls. Her heartbeat is louder than her footfalls. Scott tries but he isn't nearly as quiet.

When they get to the vault, Parker shakes her head. “I can see why they shut the bank down,” she mutters. “No point in pretending anymore when you can't be bothered to update your safe after 1953.”

Scott looks at the huge steel door, which looks pretty secure to him. “Can you open it?” he asks.

There's a snort of laughter from his earpiece. “Wow,” somebody says.

“ _You_ could probably open it,” Parker says, flattening herself against the door and beginning to turn the dial. “It practically has 'Baby's First Break-In' written on it.”

Breaking into safes is the kind of thing Scott never imagined himself doing in real life before becoming a werewolf, even when he was thinking up ways to piss off his dad. But now, everything's changed. Survival and the pack is more important than consequences. He's just working up the nerve to ask Parker if she'll explain how the lock works when he hears a loud click.

“There,” Parker says. She turns the handle and pushes the vault door open.

It's dark inside. “Erica? Boyd?” Scott whispers. He steps forward and slams into an invisible wall. He looks down and can just see the unbroken line of mountain ash on the floor.

“Who's there?” It's Boyd, sounding wary.

“It's Scott. I've brought help, we came to get you guys out of here.”

“That's an Alpha with him,” Erica hisses. For a second, Scott isn't sure it's really her. She sounds awful, like she has a really bad sore throat. “Nothing wrong with my nose. I can smell her.”

“Parker isn't with the Alpha pack,” Scott says. He knows that it doesn't sound convincing. He's already messing up his part of the plan: get Erica and Boyd to come with them willingly. Nate said that they probably would attack strange wolves, after all they've been through. But Scott is part of their pack. Technically. Though he really hasn't hung out with them that much and never wanted to be a werewolf at all.

Anyway, Scott's here because Derek and Isaac make a better distraction and Peter isn't trustworthy enough for something like this.

Scott turns to say something to Parker but she isn't there. “Parker?” he whispers, as quietly as he can.

“I'll be right back,” she says in his earpiece.

Scott turns back to the darkness of the vault. “Are either of you hurt?” he asks.

Erica coughs a laugh. Boyd says, “Alpha-wounds don't heal right. Erica's hurt worst, out of the three of us.”

“Three?”

“Are you going to let me out too?” a new voice asks. A girl, probably a teenager.

“Sure,” Scott says, because he's ready to rescue anybody the Alpha pack has locked up. “What's your name?”

Suddenly, Parker is beside him. “Stand back,” she says. Scott steps back and hears shuffling inside the vault.

Parker gently sweeps the line of mountain ash with the long-handled broom Scott didn't notice was in her hand. The powder scatters, breaking the circle. Magical tension releases with a snap Scott can feel in his chest.

“Okay, come on out,” he says.

They stagger into view with Erica supported between them. Scott tries to help but the girl he's never met waves him away. “Just show us the way out,” she says. She looks kind of familiar but it's hard to tell in the shadows.

~~

_10 minutes later_

Nate needs a drink.

He's been stuck at the vet clinic for hours. Planning took time, of course, especially with outside people, but he expected to be back at the hotel by now or at least in whatever bar a small town like this might have.

Parker and Scott are on their way back here with the missing kids. That is part of the reason he's staying. He wants to see them for himself, hear a little of their stories. The next sections of the plan are already built in his mind. Nate doesn't need more input for that. However, a little proof of success and a smidge of 'why we do this' wouldn't hurt.

He still doesn't like jobs with supernatural elements. There are always more unknown factors than necessary. Nate wants the supernatural surprises on _his_ side of things.

A car pulls up outside with a loud screeching of brakes. Sophie looks up from her magazine. “Must be Parker driving,” she says.

Instead, Derek Hale bursts through the door, with Isaac and Eliot right behind him. “Where are they?” he snarls, his eyes glowing red.

Eliot dodges in front of him. “They're on their way here, I _told_ you that already!” he shouts, backing up as Derek keeps striding forward.

Hardison jumps up, pushing away the cart he's been using as a make-shift desk. Nate stands up as well. “What seems to be the trouble?” he asks, calmly.

Derek pauses, breathing heavily. “The Alpha pack had—” He stops talking and turns to the door. So does Isaac.

Nate hears car doors slamming. Then, Parker pokes her head around the clinic's outside door. “Somebody should probably help Erica in,” she says, to the room at large.

Derek and Isaac rush outside. Nate and the rest of the Leverage pack follow them.

Scott is helping Vernon Boyd out of the car. On the other side, Isaac lifts Erica Reyes in his arms. An unfamiliar girl stands awkwardly beside Isaac, holding on to the car for balance. Derek is standing halfway between the clinic and the car, staring at her.

“Who is that?” Nate asks.

Parker shrugs. “She didn't say. She's a Beta wolf though.”

“Cora?” Derek asks, his voice breaking.

“Whoa,” Hardison breathes.

The girl, Cora, nods. “Hi, bro,” she says, her face twisting with emotion.

Derek is across the parking lot in a blink. “I thought you were dead,” he says. Cora nods and throws her arms around him.

Nate looks away. He _really_ needs a drink.

Isaac passes by, carrying Erica inside. Scott follows, supporting Vernon. Parker holds the door for them.

“Cora Hale?” Eliot asks, quietly.

“Looks like it,” Hardison says.

“How did he not know she was alive? Where has she been all this time?” Sophie asks.

Nate is wondering that too. Cora's imprisonment with Erica and Vernon represents a new clue to the Alpha pack's intentions. Their purpose in Beacon Hills may be more complicated than it first appeared.

Cora pulls back from hugging Derek and grabs his arms. “It's a trap,” she says.

“What?”

“They were setting a trap for you. We were the bait. Is it the full moon tonight?” Cora asks.

“It's tomorrow,” Derek says, still sounding dazed.

Cora leans her forehead on his chest for a second and then straightens up again. “Good. I'd lost track in there.”

“What are you talking about? What trap?” Derek asks.

“There's something weird about the vault. We haven't changed for months. So now, we're not used to the moon and this month's change is going to be... bad.” She pauses. “They were going to let the moon in somehow and lock you in with us and... and...”

“Oh my god,” Sophie whispers.

Eliot growls.

At the sound, Derek turns around. “What are all of you doing out here?” he asks, anger in every word. “This has nothing to do with you.”

“Sorry, man,” Hardison says. “We were just—”

Derek cuts him off. “Go on then. Thanks for your help, but we can handle it from here.”

“Did he just tell us to get lost?” Hardison asks no one in particular.

Nate steps forward. He's planning to say something conciliatory yet inspiring but Derek speaks before he can. “Yes. I didn't ask you to come. And I don't need strangers commenting on my personal life. Go away.”

“We didn't mean any harm,” Sophie says.

“I don't care!” Derek snaps. “ Leave my territory, now.”

Everyone looks at Nate. He weighs the options and makes a decision. “We'll leave town in the morning,” he says. A fight for territory they don't want wouldn't be good for anyone.

Derek grunts and turns away. He and Cora go into the vet clinic together.

Nate and his team start walking. The hotel isn't too far from here.

Behind him, Nate hears Hardison ask, “Do you think they were in the vault the whole time?”

“Not with the door closed,” Parker says. “They'd suffocate after about 50 hours. Less if they moved around.”

“If the vault shielded them from the moon somehow, it would only need to be closed while the moon shone,” Nate says. “Otherwise, they could be kept in there by any of the usual mystical barriers.”

Sophie elbows Nate, not gently. He catches the full force of her Look as they pass under a streetlight.

“I'd come and get you, if that happened,” Eliot says.

“I know,” Hardison says.

Hardison's claustrophobia is something Nate thinks about when planning jobs but it slips his mind in ordinary conversations. The rest of the walk is less tense because Sophie takes over the conversation and they all talk about nothing much for ten minutes or so.

In the hotel bar, Nate treats himself to a celebratory drink. After all, they _did_ save the day.

~~

_The next day_

“Admit it, that was kind of fun,” Hardison says, grinning at Eliot, instead of watching the road like he's supposed to. They are finally on the highway out of Beacon Hills and Eliot couldn't be happier.

“No, that was not _fun_ , Hardison,” Eliot says. “That was awful.”

“You are ridiculous, man. What was so bad about it?”

Eliot pauses. He remembers a time when he would have just complained about something small and left anything else unsaid. “Those kids are barely holding it together,” he says, finally.

“We helped them,” says Parker, from the backseat.

“Yeah. But all of them are... traumatized. And the Alpha pack ain't done fighting over that territory.”

“I bet the town sends them nightmares on the regular too, which would suck,” Hardison says.

“We should take down the Alpha pack remotely,” Parker says.

“I can turn over the info I have to the FBI,” Hardison offers. “Should be able to build enough of a case to get them interested anyway.”

Eliot nods. The final part of Nate's original plan involved the FBI taking the Alpha pack into federal custody. The FBI can handle werewolves, as long as they don't admit on the record that that's what they're doing.

“How much do you have on them right now?” Parker asks.

“Names, bank accounts, former home addresses, probable sites for most of the murders,” Hardison says. “Not tied up in a nice bow yet but I can work on it tomorrow.” He wouldn't be able to work on it tonight because of the full moon. They are driving to the next town over and will be spending the night in a hotel before flying back to Boston. The moon makes all three of them too twitchy to be trapped on a flight that long, even early in the day. They'd expected to stay in Beacon Hills for it, maybe even with Isaac's pack, but Derek had made it very clear that they weren't welcome. Nate and Sophie are already in the air, since there's no point in everyone being inconvenienced.

Eliot leans over to fiddle with the rental car's radio. He hears Hardison breathe in sharply and looks up in time to see a blur of movement.

The impact is sudden. Eliot yells in surprise. He's thrown forward against the shoulder strap of his seat belt, as the airbags explode and glass showers around him. The whole world rolls with him at the centre, the car making horrible screeching noises as it skids upside down.

The noise goes on for a long time and resolves into ringing in his ears. Eliot opens his eyes. He's hanging upside down by his seat belt, with the deflating airbag blocking his view.

“Hardison? Parker?” he croaks. No answer.

Eliot pushes the airbag aside. Hardison is unconscious. His head is touching the car roof but his seat belt is still secured. Eliot watches him breathe for a moment, needing the reassurance.

And he remembers: Parker almost never wears her seat belt. Eliot always _tells_ her to. Even an Alpha werewolf can be killed by a broken neck.

“Parker!” he yells.

There's movement from behind him. Eliot tries to look but he can't turn far enough in this position. He reaches up with one hand to the seat belt buckle, bracing the other on the car's ceiling. The seat belt comes free. He grunts in pain as his bracing arm completely fails to hold his weight and his head hits the car roof with a thunk. He manages to flop so he's on his side and can see into the backseat.

Parker is curled up in a ball on the ceiling a few feet away. She groans. She's alive.

The ringing in Eliot's ears is subsiding, and he winces as he hears the crunch of bones realigning themselves. Adrenaline is keeping his pain away for the moment so it's hard to assess the damage. All he can smell is blood and gasoline.

There's a horrifying, rending crunch and Hardison's car door crumples away. An Alpha werewolf is snarling in at them, red eyes glowing.

Eliot snarls back, ready to tear the other werewolf's throat out. He tries to lunge forward but claws dig into his shoulder from behind and drag him backward. He's slammed against the passenger door. His attacker keeps pulling, like they want his body to pass through the solid metal and plastic. Eliot tries to retaliate. It's a bad angle and his left arm has almost no strength so he only manages a swipe at the hand holding him.

“Deucalion wants a word,” the werewolf behind him growls. She sinks her free claws into his other shoulder and pulls him through the broken window.

~~

_3 hours later_

Isaac hears his phone start ringing in his room as he's coming into the apartment and sprints to get it. He's pretty much completely recovered now, so he's fast enough to answer it in the middle of the second ring.

“Hello?”

“Isaac? Thank god, man. Derek isn't picking up his phone.”

Isaac rolls his eyes. “He just got reunited with his sister and it's the full moon tonight. He is _busy_ , Stiles.”

“Not as busy as he's gonna be.” Stiles takes a deep breath and goes on, “Okay, so my dad got called in for a car accident on the south highway half an hour ago. Car was totalled, should have been fatalities, but nobody there when he arrived on the scene.”

“Stiles...”

“One of the doors was ripped off. With claw marks. It was a rental car.”

Isaac asks, “What are you saying?” He has a sinking feeling that he knows already.

“I think the Alpha pack found your consultants,” Stiles says.

“You don't know for sure,” Isaac says.

Stiles sighs. “No. But it's worth checking out, right?”

“What do you expect _me_ to do?” Isaac asks.

“Get your pack together and help them! They helped you out yesterday.” There's a pause where it feels like Stiles is deliberately not saying 'and it's your fault they're in town at all.'

“What part of 'it's the full moon' do you not get? They'll be stronger tonight than any other day of the month,” Isaac says.

“Stop arguing with me and go argue with Derek!” Stiles snaps. “Or get him to pick up his fucking phone and I'll do it.”

Isaac almost hangs up on Stiles but a thought occurs to him. “You told Scott already and he's going, isn’t he?”

“You know Scott,” Stiles says, sounding more resigned than angry now. “Always ready to help.”

“You should have said that first.”

“Oh my god, Isaac, just go tell Derek already.” Stiles hangs up before Isaac can argue more.

Isaac throws his phone down on his bed and walks back to the living room. He freezes in the doorway. Erica, Boyd, Cora, and Derek stare at him expectantly.

“Uh,” Isaac says, intelligently, trying to remember exactly what he said on the phone.

“Where's Scott going?” Derek asks.

“Stiles says the Leverage pack was kidnapped by the Alpha pack,” Isaac says. “And Scott's going to go save them.”

“By himself?” Cora asks, incredulous.

“Sounds like Scott,” Erica says.

“Yep,” Boyd says.

Derek stands up and starts pacing. There isn't much furniture in the living room so he has lots of space. Isaac wonders if they're going to get another couch now that there will be five of them living here instead of two. “Tell me,” Derek says.

Isaac tells them basically in Stiles' own words. They have a lot of questions. Some of them are the same questions Isaac himself asked but a few are different.

“How would we even find them?” Erica asks.

Isaac shrugs.

“Why does Scott think he can do anything against the Alpha pack by himself?” Boyd asks.

Isaac shrugs again. “Scott won't be alone,” he says. “He'll just bring humans and a Banshee instead of werewolves.”

“I have an idea,” Cora says. She looks over at Derek, who is still pacing, and makes a face. “You aren't going to like it.”

~~

_50 minutes later_

Cora was right. Derek doesn't like this plan. It is a truly terrible plan, and he should know.

(He still can't believe she's alive.)

But it has been running fairly smoothly so far. Scott used the earpiece Parker loaned him to figure out where they were. By putting it in his ear, turning the volume up, and listening really hard for auditory clues. An unbelievably dumb idea that only Scott would think of. It worked. They're in the woods. Somewhere near aspens, running water, and train tracks. Though, really, that information is only useful because Derek and Cora grew up running through these woods and they figured out where it must be.

(Scott is _good_ at making his plans work, it's so annoying.)

When all of them get close enough to approximately confirm the location of the Alphas by scent, Derek is furious all over again at how close this rival pack is to the heart of his territory. The full moon feels like it's pulling on him harder than usual tonight, for all it hasn't risen yet.

They creep through the trees, some more quietly than others. Derek didn't want to bring _everybody_ but the extra numbers will help make his pack seem stronger.

As they move closer, Derek can hear Deucalion saying, “Come now. I admit we've had some fun together but don't you think it's time to choose?”

“Get away from her!” The shout is rough and full of pain. Between the trees, Derek sees an Alpha he doesn't know kick Hardison to shut him up. He groans.

Parker snarls wordlessly. The twin Alphas are both holding her. The last member of the Alpha pack, other than Deucalion, is standing over Eliot's unconscious body.

“Use your words,” Deucalion says.

That's probably as good an opening as he's going to get. Derek strides into the clearing, everybody scrambling after him. “I have some words for you,” he says, “Get lost.”

He has the satisfaction of seeing Deucalion actually jump as he turns around. Deucalion focuses somewhere around Derek's left ear. “What a pleasant surprise,” he says, recovering quickly.

(If he lunged forward _right now_ , could he tear Deucalion's throat out before being killed?)

“Not for you,” Derek says, “Because I brought my pack with me. And the moon is just about to rise.” Boyd, Erica, and Cora join him at the front of the group. Out of the corner of his eye, Derek sees the Alpha next to Hardison start backing away.

“We haven't changed in a while,” Erica says, smiling with all her teeth.

“Children,” Deucalion says. “Haven't you forgotten? You'll attack _everyone_ when the moon rises.”

“We'll attack you first,” Boyd says.

“Look! There's the moon!” Stiles yells, pointing.

When everyone looks up, Eliot explodes into action. Derek hears a grunt and the Alpha who was guarding Eliot is on the ground, and Eliot is halfway across the clearing before Derek is sure what's going on. He slams into the twin Alphas a second later, breaking their grip on Parker. She starts crawling away.

The moon hasn't risen yet. Stiles' deception would have been more helpful if he told anyone on his side about it beforehand, but honestly, it could have gone worse. Deucalion is the only member of the Alpha pack still on his feet. Until Allison shoots him with her crossbow.

Deucalion is up again in an instant but goes right back down when Erica, Boyd, and Cora jump on him. Isaac and Derek run over to help Eliot, while Scott and Stiles stay with Allison to defend her from close attacks. As they cross the clearing, Derek looks around for the other two Alphas. They're gone.

Eliot is in rough shape when they get to him. He's bleeding from a dozen wounds that haven't healed. The twin Alphas are crouching just out of arms reach and they look... scared? Now that they're in the thick of things, Derek can't smell anything over all the blood, so he can't confirm the emotion.

When Derek and Isaac snarl in unison at the twins, they jump up and run away into the woods. Eliot stares at Derek from the ground and his eyes are terrifyingly blue. Derek quickly reasserts control and stops his eyes from glowing red. Eliot's gaze doesn't flicker. Derek isn't sure if Eliot recognizes him or not.

“Parker and Hardison are over there,” Isaac says, pulling Derek back with one hand and pointing with the other.

Eliot looks. Parker is crouched beside Hardison. Derek can't hear over the noise but it looks like he's talking to her.

“Need some help?” Derek asks Eliot.

Eliot blinks at him, his eyes still glowing. “Thanks,” he says, finally.

Between the two of them, Isaac and Derek help Eliot stumble over to his pack. He shrugs them off for the last couple steps. Parker reaches up and grabs Eliot in time to slow his fall. He grunts when he lands on the ground. Hardison drags himself closer and Eliot reaches out for him.

“Guys, it really is the moon this time!” Stiles yells.

“Get the mountain ash!” Derek yells back. “We have to separate them!”

In the confusion of trying to get Cora, Erica, and Boyd far enough apart to confine them, Deucalion slips away.

Afterward, Derek takes the healing wolfsbane over to the Leverage pack. “Here,” he says, “This will help heal the Alpha-inflicted wounds.”

Parker takes it. She looks almost unhurt now, except for all the dried blood. She probably has healing broken bones though.

“Thanks,” Hardison says, his voice raspy.

“You can stay in town until you're all healed,” Derek says. He's torn on whether to say more. The words aren't coming to him so he stands there awkwardly for a moment.

“Yeah, we are taking those motherfuckers _down_ ,” Hardison says.

Parker nods.

Derek listens to Cora, Boyd, and Erica howling mindlessly. At last, he says, “Fine. We'll be here for a while so we can help you get back to town if you want.”

“Okay,” Parker says. Derek sees that she and Hardison are each holding one of Eliot's hands now.

As he's walking away, he hears Eliot mumble, “Give Hardison the medicine first.”

“No way, baby,” Hardison gasps back.

Derek shrugs and heads back to his pack, for another long full moon watch.

(There's no way he can ever thank them enough so he won't even try.)


	2. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A more satisfying ending now included

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! So, it's been more than a year since I posted this fic aaaand I've never been super happy with the ending. I was rushing and desperately wanting to be Done. So! I wrote a little epilogue to improve things. Thank you to everybody for your comments and kudos the first time around, hope you find this fic again and enjoy the new conclusion!

People have called Parker crazy all her life. But being held captive by the Alpha pack was definitely the closest she's come to actually going crazy.

When they're rescued and the bad Alphas have scattered, Parker can still feel that raw, wild rage too close to the surface. She focuses on her anchor. Hardison and Eliot are healing, they're going to be okay.

Though the magic plant from Derek made them scream all over again. Hardison accidentally broke some bones in her hand, holding on too hard, but he didn't notice and she'll never tell him. Eliot passed all the way out for real and she's only seen him do that in front of strangers once before.

Some of the others have gone home. The humans mostly, though Scott left too. The moon is just about down but Erika, Boyd, and Cora are still wolfed out and howling inside their mountain ash circles. Parker keeps feeling her own howls rising in her throat but she stops herself from joining in. They aren't her pack and anyway, she has to listen for danger.

Isaac warned them about the magic plant hurting, after Derek had walked away, but he's kept his distance otherwise. Derek and Isaac have mostly been pacing around, talking quietly together. Parker envies their mobility. She can tell her broken legs aren't healed enough yet. She'll need help walking out of here in the morning. The rage bubbles up again. Again, Parker pushes it down. She can't fall apart now. She's on guard.

She sees Isaac pick something up off the ground. He shows it to Derek and then brings the thing over to Parker. “Is this yours?” he asks.

It's one of their burner phones. She nods. Isaac hands it to her.

The phone still works. Parker can tell it's one of Hardison's because it has a silly background photo: three puppies curled up together. She glances at Hardison. He's sleeping, even with all the noise. Eliot is maybe sleeping too now, instead of just being unconscious.

Parker really hates being the one to tell Nate when something's gone wrong. She pushes her dirty hair out of her face, squares her shoulders, and calls him.

“Hello?”

There's a pause where Parker completely fails to speak. Her words are all clumped up and stuck in her throat.

“Hello?” Nate sounds more impatient now. Did he not memorize their burner numbers before the job? That's ridiculous.

Parker takes a breath and forces the words out. “We were attacked by the Alpha pack,” she manages to say.

“Parker? Are you alright?”

“We will be,” she says.

“What happened?” Nate asks.

Parker smiles a tiny bit in relief. Nate will know what to do. “They made our car crash somehow. Took us further into the woods. Deucalion wanted me to...” She swallows, bracing herself.

Nate doesn't make her say it. “How did you get away?” he asks instead.

“We didn't. Derek's pack found us. Must have scared them away.”

“How?”

Parker shakes her head even though Nate can't see her. She wasn't paying enough attention. Maybe someone else can tell Nate the details later. “I don't know,” she says. “Maybe the kidnapped kids? They're still howling and shifted.”

“Hmmm,” is all Nate says.

“We're going to stay,” Parker blurts out. “They can't... they can't get away with this.” She can feel her eyes flash red as she says it.

“No, they can't,” Nate says and Parker relaxes a little. “Sophie and I will be back in Beacon Hills as soon as we can. Keep a low profile until we get there.”

“Okay.”

There's a silence and then Nate unexpectedly says, “I'm sorry, Parker.”

She doesn't know what to say. Nate goes on, “We shouldn't have left. We should have stayed and taken the Alpha pack down.”

He's right so she doesn't say anything.

“Give me an update in a few hours,” Nate says, finally, and hangs up.

Parker closes the phone. She really wants to lie down. She watches the lightening sky to stay awake.

~~

_60 hours later_

Stiles glances up from his homework for the seventieth time. Maybe the eightieth time. He convinced Dad to let him tag along to the police station tonight because he wants to see the plan going into action. But if nobody actually _shows up_ at the police station, then he has wasted his time yet again. Stiles sighs. He should be more used to this kind of thing but the sting of disappointment never gets any less sting-y.

The outer door opens and Stiles looks up again. This time, his patience is rewarded. Two men in FBI windbreakers come in.

One of them is Scott's dad.

Stiles manages to smother his yelp of surprise and crouches down in his chair. Mr. McCall isn't looking his way. Stiles slips out of the chair and creeps over to the door. He's in a little office which has a door facing the main lobby. Slowly, he closes the half-open door until the crack is just big enough to see through.

Mr. McCall and the other FBI agent aren't in the lobby longer than a minute or so before the door opens and _another_ FBI agent comes in. A woman this time, her blonde ponytail swishing against her windbreaker. She takes off her sunglasses in a smooth motion and Stiles just about falls down when he realizes she's _Parker_.

“Special Agent Hagen!” the agent Stiles doesn't know exclaims. He sounds delighted to see her.

“Hi McSweeten,” Parker says, smiling like she genuinely likes him. “How are you? Where's Taggert?”

“Still teaching at Quantico. Apparently, he loves it,” Agent McSweeten says. “I'm here with Special Agent McCall today. McCall, this is Hagen. We go way back.”

Parker and Mr. McCall shake hands. “Thanks for coming in on this one,” Parker says.

None of this makes any sense. Is Parker actually an FBI agent? Stiles remembers the plan being way different than this. Though 'tell the FBI what the Alpha pack did' definitely will work better with Parker _being_ the FBI. Did she learn how to crack safes at Quantico?

“I have family in the area,” Mr. McCall says.

“Bad luck,” Parker says.

“Why do you say that?” Mr. McCall asks.

“All of the murders lately,” Parker says.

Agent McSweeten says, hastily, “Maybe we should take this into a more secure area.”

Suddenly, his office door is pulled open. Off-balance, Stiles staggers a few steps into the lobby. All three FBI agents stare at him.

“Maybe you should,” his dad says. “Come down the hall, we'll find you an interview room without any eavesdroppers.”

“Is that your son?” Mr. McCall asks.

“Yes,” Dad says, like he'd rather not admit it. “He's going home now. Say goodbye, Stiles.”

“Goodbye, Stiles,” Stiles mutters. Parker grins.

Dad gives him a gentle nudge back into the office. Combined with the 'we'll talk about this later' eyebrows, it's enough to get Stiles very motivated to pack up his stuff and get out of there.

~~

_18 hours later_

Allison and her dad watch as another bunch of FBI guys drag another cuffed semi-conscious Alpha Pack werewolf out of their apartment building.

“What I don't understand,” Dad says, confused and a little angry, “is how the FBI knew where they were and _I_ didn't.”

Allison doesn't answer, so he keeps going. “They were in our _building_! It doesn't make any sense.”

“It's barely our building, Dad, we just moved there,” Allison says.

He isn't listening. “Somebody should have told me. It's the _least_ they could've—” He stops suddenly. “Did you know?” he asks.

“How could I have known? You said no Hunter stuff, remember?” Allison lies.

Dad sighs. “And you'd never go against what I said, right?”

“I have nothing to do with the _FBI_ ,” Allison says. That's even practically the truth so Dad can just deal. She turns away from the building and sees Nate, Sophie, Eliot, Hardison, and Parker standing off to the side, like they're admiring the view. Eliot gives her a little smile.

Allison ducks her head to hide an answering smile. It feels good to have more allies. Maybe they can help each other out again someday.


End file.
